Clearwater County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Clearwater County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by ID GS (211), USGS Conterminous (7), NASA (5).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 10, 2015Wildfire, Orofino / Grangeville Region$8.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   KREM news reported The Lawyer Complex has burned 42 homes and 75 other buildings, according to Northern Rockies Incident Management Team. The National situation reported 118 structures lost (as of the last report 9/10/2015) with the cost of fighting the fire at 25 million dollars. The Idaho County Sheriff's Office says a woman died preparing for evacuations due to the Lawyer Complex Fire. She died Friday evening after falling and hitting her head.

2. Feb 8, 2008Heavy Snow, Orofino / Grangeville Region$7.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Idaho County Free Press reported that the gymnasium roof collapsed under heavy snow loading at the North Idaho Correctional Institution at Cottonwood Butte. 48 inches of snow had accumulated from the recent storm.

3. Mar 16, 2017Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Abundant rain and low elevation snow melt in the upper portions of Orofino Creek near Pierce led to high stream flows on the 15th, followed by minor flooding on the 16th. Multiple homes and property were sandbagged to prevent flooding across southwest portions of the county. Jim Ford Creek flooded multiple properties in the Weippe area. Clearwater County declared a state of emergency because of all the mudslide, debris and river issues. Although the most severe flooding occurred on or near the 16th, another culvert gave way and caused Grangemont Road to shut down mile-marker 22 on March 25th lasting until April 5th. Total estimated cost of road repairs was 3 million dollars due to…

4. Sep 7, 2020Wildfire, Orofino / Grangeville Region$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds gusting to 45 mph caused trees to fall on power lines, and this in turn sparked several wildfires near Orofino. These fires spread quickly in the low humidity and windy environment. Later named the Sunnyside Complex, an initial damage assessment included 13 homes, 31 outbuildings, and 27 vehicles destroyed. Highway 12 was also closed for a time.

5. Feb 5, 2018Heavy Rain$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain lead to a fallen tree across U.S. Highway 12 near milepost 52 and subsequent car accident at 4:08 am on the 5th. One person was injured in the incident and the highway was blocked for one and a half hours.

6. Mar 13, 2026Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The most significant impact occurred south of Orofino, where a large landslide blocked US-12 between mile markers 44 and 45. The initial slide occurred around 1539MST on Friday, March 13. While crews worked to clear the route, a second slide occurred at the same location at 0920MST on Saturday, March 14. The highway remained closed in both directions until Saturday afternoon. Additional landslides and rockslides were reported on Lower Fords Creek Road, Grangemont Road, Sunnyside, and Bobbitt Bench. Heavy traffic diverted to Sunnyside Road caused that secondary route to begin failing under the saturated conditions.||In Orofino, the urban drainage system reached maximum capacity and…

7. Dec 17, 2025High Wind, Orofino / Grangeville Region$140,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An Idaho Transportation Department weather station at Concrete Section recorded a peak gust of 75 mph at 0700PST and multiple instances of sustained winds between 40 and 44 mph between 0600 and 0815PST. The top of Greer Grade measured a 73 mph gust between 0600PST and 0615PST. The Idaho County Sheriff's Office reported that most county roads were blocked or partially blocked by downed trees. Travel was highly discouraged, and official travel not recommended advisories were issued by 1100PST. Emergency responders dealt with multiple highway blockages, including State Highway 13 which was completely shut down between mileposts 6 and 11 due to power lines lying across the roadway, as…

8. Aug 14, 2014Hail$104,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A farmer reported major property and crop damage due to both large hail and wind. The property damage included 5 rental home roofs, siding from 3 homes, several windows, and 12 garage doors that either were dented or destroyed. Approximately 75% of his spring wheat crop, approximately 450 acres, was decimated by the wind and hail. In the 67 years that he has lived there, there was only one other storm that was comparable to this one. Back in 1963, a similar storm decimated his dad's crops.

9. Dec 17, 2025High Wind, Northern Clearwater Mountains$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dent RAWS, located at 1,700 feet, reported wind gusts up to 55 mph between 0508PST and 0608PST, and 57 mph between 0608PST and 0708PST. Fallen trees completely blocked roads and access points throughout the county. Widespread tree damage was noted across central and eastern Clearwater County, including North Fork Road, which was completely blocked by fallen timber between Quartz Creek and Washington Creek. |The storm caused severe, localized utility impacts. At 0710PST on December 17, 2,613 out of 5,960 tracked customers (nearly 44 percent) were without power in Clearwater County. Across Clearwater Power's broader network, power was eventually restored to over 10,750 members,…

10. May 3, 2010High Wind, Orofino / Grangeville Region$78,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Grangeville HANDAR reported winds sustained at 43 mph with gusts up to 59 mph. Multiple trees were reported down near Weippe, including a 16 inch diameter Ponderosa Pine. Significant damage was caused at the Kooskia National Fish Hatchery due to a 60 ft by 100ft storage building having its roof ripped off.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

112°FJun 29, 2021

All-time low

−15°F2 times, most recently Dec 31, 1968

Warmest night

73°FJun 28, 2015

Coldest day

4°FDec 31, 1968

Wettest day

2.50 inDec 27, 2010

Snowiest day

14.0 inJan 6, 2022

Hottest year

2025mean 54.8°F

Coldest year

2017mean 49.4°F

Wettest year

199636.55 in

Driest year

196915.29 in

Snowiest season

38.4 in1996-97

Station Dworshak Fish Hatchery (USC00102845), 995 ft elevation, 6.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1966 to October 27, 2026; 95.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00102845.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.